The following is an analysis Parisotto did recently using the blood values cyclist Lance Armstrong posted on his website back in 2008-2009 during his comeback to competitive cycling for the 2009 Giro and Tour de France. This was not part of any official investigation into the data, but more as a matter of curiosity about available information on the case and what it can tell us.

The pain that hurts the worse is the imagined pain. One of the most difficult arts of racing is learning to ignore the imagined pain and just live with the present pain (which is always bearable.) - Jeff

The following is an analysis Parisotto did recently using the blood values cyclist Lance Armstrong posted on his website back in 2008-2009 during his comeback to competitive cycling for the 2009 Giro and Tour de France. This was not part of any official investigation into the data, but more as a matter of curiosity about available information on the case and what it can tell us.

My eyes opened wide at the reticulocyte data. In my mind, it's more than a nail, it's a smoking gun.

That might just be the reason LA decided to forgo arbitration !!!!!!!

The pain that hurts the worse is the imagined pain. One of the most difficult arts of racing is learning to ignore the imagined pain and just live with the present pain (which is always bearable.) - Jeff

Last week I read Tyler Hamilton's "The Secret Race." (NYT Review Here). It wasn't a pleasure read but I was compelled to keep turning the page nonetheless. If anyone is interested, I recommend it.

I take everything I read about doping now with a huge grain of salt, look for people's motivations, biases, etc... but damn. If even half of what was written is true it's very damning. The sad thing I think it's hardly half the story.

I followed pro cycling from the mid 90s to about 2004 more closely than I should have. Tyler's positive was when I stopped paying that much attention. Overlaying the sequence of events in his book with what I observed during this time was fascinating. There were many riders I thought were good and had potential who just, quit, went off the radar, or left Europe to ride for smaller domestic teams with mixed results. Not all of these riders were washed up or slackers. They just weren't buying into the doping culture.

I understand that if true Lance was a bad player. But really why all the focus by the USADA on Lance relative to say Flow Joe. Do they think anyone outside the US really accept those records held by Flow Joe. Really, look like they are trying to prove a point to the world, bringing down one of their own prominent athlete but it does not for a moment restore much faith in their integrity. Until they are prepared to touch a lot more sacred cows many will remain skeptical.

I understand that if true Lance was a bad player. But really why all the focus by the USADA on Lance relative to say Flow Joe. Do they think anyone outside the US really accept those records held by Flow Joe. Really, look like they are trying to prove a point to the world, bringing down one of their own prominent athlete but it does not for a moment restore much faith in their integrity. Until they are prepared to touch a lot more sacred cows many will remain skeptical.

I understand that if true Lance was a bad player. But really why all the focus by the USADA on Lance relative to say Flow Joe. Do they think anyone outside the US really accept those records held by Flow Joe. Really, look like they are trying to prove a point to the world, bringing down one of their own prominent athlete but it does not for a moment restore much faith in their integrity. Until they are prepared to touch a lot more sacred cows many will remain skeptical.

So what sacred cows are USADA protecting? What evidence do you have that they are protecting them?

I have not had time to read through the whole document Jeff posted yet, but if anyone is protecting an athlete it is the UCI trying to protect Armstrong. The UCI has samples of Lance's tested for EPO and is refusing to release the results without Armstrong's permission (surprise surprise, he refused it). Perhaps there is some legal/privacy thing at play, it is hard to say. However without knowing that for sure it seems unlikely, and to see a cycling governing body refusing to release doping test results is at least suspicious without further explanation.

And, while I know the whole "don't give anything you don't have to" concept, for an athlete who is trying to clear his name, it seems odd that Armstrong will not release them...since he claims he never failed a test.

(Of course if you read the document this is not quite correct. Armstrong did fail a cortisone test which he explained away and proportedly back-dated a prescription. More importantly, he failed one or several tests which were not failures at the time....but under revised cut-off values they would be considered failures today.)

"If you want to be a bad a$s, then do what a bad a$s does. There's your pep talk for today. Go Run." -- Slo_Hand

So what sacred cows are USADA protecting? What evidence do you have that they are protecting them?

I admittedly have none. My comment was more that of a non-citizen that is pro US and find it difficult defending USADA when people are always complaining about their integrity. Everyone or most people internationally accept the fact that the Eastern bloc engaged in heavy doping especially in the past. When Lance was winning there was always complaint about him doping albeit with little or no evidence. Additionally if you listen to the commentary especially on Flow Joe's record in the non US press. Most people look at them with an asterisk. It is only right and just for them to be going after Lance but the truth is that a lot of people just look on it as a bone and still would like to hear about other suspicious cases. (Flow Joe is the most prominent) It comes off as a sort of over kill on Lance when no similar effort seems to be made to correct the record of some other pass performers. The answer seems to be more than- this is one case we have evidence for.

When the US press raised its concern and not necessarily unfairly about the Chinese swimmer it was with a role of eyes from the rest of the world. Sad to see the state of faith in athletics with all the mistrust.